Restraining order bid in Berkeley case rejected

A judge has denied a construction firm’s attempt to “spy on” a criminal probe into the Berkeley balcony collapse that killed six and injured seven students.

Segue Construction, which built the Library Gardens apartment complex, wanted a halt to the forensic examination of the collapsed balcony and a second one removed. It wanted its representatives to be present to observe the balcony examinations.

But a judge rejected the request for a restraining order, ruling that the firm showed no evidence it would suffer “irreparable harm” if investigators inspected the rotted balconies without the involvement of its representatives.

If Judge Evelio Grillo, of Alameda County Superior Court, had ruled differently, it would have allowed future defendants to “basically piggyback on, spy on, maybe even control a criminal investigation,” said assistant district attorney, Michael O’Connor, after the hearing.

Judge Grillo said prosecutors are under an obligation to conduct a “fair and impartial investigation”.

In court yesterday, a lawyer for Segue claimed any testing would be “tampering with the evidence” ahead of any potential criminal case and civil lawsuits.

Six students, five of them Irish, died, and seven, all Irish, were injured when the fifth floor balcony of apartment 405 collapsed in the early hours of June 16.